6 time world champion Nicol David retains her spot at the top for another month andJenny Duncalf makes it a further month at no.2. Madeline Perry leaps back above Laura Massaro to return to number 3 whilst Rachael Grinham also jumps back above Kasey Brown to return to number 5.

Natalie Grinham moves up to number 8, her highest ranking since August 2010.Samantha Teran’s strong year in 2011, including a semi final place at the World Open has seen her move up one to number 12, her highest ranking since November 2010 and one away from her highest ranking of 11.

Dipika Pallikal won her 3^rd title of 2011 in December at the Crocodile Cup in Hong Kong beating Joey Chan in a thriller, 14-12 in the 5^th. This win sees the Indian number 1 record another milestone as she moves up 2 places to a career high of number 15. Her opponent in the final, Joey Chan, also reaches a career high by moving up 1 place to number 19.

Outside the top 20 there were career highs by a number of players:

Swiss no.1 Gaby Huber moves up to no.29.
World Junior Semi-Finalist Emily Whitlock moves up to no.33.
Australia’s Melody Francis, winner of 5 WSA titles in 2011 moves up to no.34.
Japanese no.1 Misaki Kobayashi moves up to no.37.
Canadian no.1 Samantha Cornett moves up to no.42.
Czech no.2 Olga Ertlova moves up to no.46.
French no.2 Coline Aumard moves into to the top 50 at no.50 for the first time.
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry moves up to no.65 after winning her first title at the Manor Open.

There were further career in the top 100 for:
Korean no.1 Ahn Eun Chan moves up to no.52, New Zealand’s Amanda Landers-Murphy moves up to no.54, Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling at no.55, Australia’s Sarah Cardwell at no.57, Brazilian no.1 Thaisa Serafini at no.59, Welsh no.1 Tesni Evans at no.60, Australia’s Tamika Saxby at 71, USA’s Kristin Lange at no.80, New Zealand’s Megan Craig at no.81, Australia’s Christine Nunn at no.82, USA’s Elpiniki Clementat no.83, Australia’s Vanessa Pickard at no.84, Canada’s Genevieve Lessard at no.88, England’s Carrie Ramsay at no.89 and Zephanie Curgenven at no.91, France’s Chloe Mesic at no.93, USA’s Sabrina Sobhy at no.95, Scotland’s Alex Clark at no.97 and Australia’s Bethany Brazier at no.98.

Nicol David, No. 1 for 65 consecutive month. Photo courtesy of M. Roslan.

The December rankings were bound to feature some big changes due to the World Open and Hong Kong Open taking place in November. There were career highs aplenty throughout the top 100 and the highest of those was at number 3.

Laura Massaro, the WISPA Player of the Year, has moved into the world’s top 3 for the first time. Massaro started the year ranked at number 10 but after success in Cleveland and the British Nationals as well as the prestigious US Open, she seems to have asserted herself as a major threat to Nicol David’s reign on the women’s game.

The world’s top 2 remain unchanged. Jenny Duncalf reached her first World Open final, showing great form before being outclassed by Nicol David. David had a few surprise losses this year but still has amassed 7 titles, including a record 6^th World Open title. It makes it 65 consecutive months at no.1 for David.

Also in the top 20, Kasey Brown makes her debut in the top 5 becoming the Australian no.1 for the first time as she leaps above Rachael Grinham. Grinham’s drop down to no.6 ends her stay in the top 5, a place she has impressively held since February 2003!

Raneem El Weleily moves back up to a career high equalling no.7 after reaching her first World Series final in Hong Kong. Natalie Grinham moves up one place to no.9, her highest ranking since August 2010, after reaching the World Open semi final in front of her home crowd in Rotterdam.

Low Wee Wern records her highest ranking at no.11. The Malaysian wasn’t having the best year as she saw her ranking drop to 21 in October. Winning the China Open, her biggest title, seemed to change her fortune and she reached the Qatar Classic and World Open quarter finals as well as the Hong Kong Open semi final, with four top 10 wins along the way.

Samantha Teran became the 1^st ever Mexican to reach the World Open semi final as she moved back up to no.13. Dipika Pallikal also became the 1^st ever Indian to reach the World Open quarter final. The Indian star’s shine looks to continue as she moves up to a career high no.17. Joey Chan had a November to remember. She captured her biggest title and first of the year at the Macau Open and then reached the Hong Kong Open quarter final, upsetting Brown before losing a thriller to El Weleily. She makes her top 20 debut at no.20.

There were further career highs in the top 100:
Kanzy El Dafrawy up to no.29 after reaching the World Open last 16. That makes 6 Egyptians in the top 30.
Gaby Huber makes her top 30 debut at no.30. She started the year outside the top 50.
Yathreb Adel up to no.32. The youngest player in the top 100 pushed Massaro in the World Open 1^stround.
Melody Francis captured her 5^th title of the year at the Mackay Open and moves to no.36.
Siyoli Waters at no.38, Misaki Kobayashi up to no.39
Sina Wall up to no.41, Samantha Cornett up to no.44, Lauren Selby up to no.47, Olga Ertlova up to no.48
Ahn Eun Chan up to no.53, Lisa Aitken up to 55, Coline Aumard up to no.56,  Amanda Landers-Murphy to 57, Salma Hany up to no.59.
Tesni Evans up to no.65, Liu Tsz-Ling up to 68, Tamika Saxby up to 73, Kristen Lange up to no.82, Megan Craig up to no.84, Christine Nunn up to no.86 and Vanessa Pickard up to no.90.

The top 20:

You can find the full rankings on the following link:

http://www.wispa.net/view_rankings.asp

The first two games were close, but when Grinham eased through the third the crowd looked worried. Their fears were allayed as Au took a lead in the fourth, their hopes raised when she did the same in the fifth, and were finally relieved as she ran away with it in the end.

“I felt quite comfortable when I was getting her into rallies in the second and the third,” said Grinham, “but from the end of the fourth and the fifth she was chopping the ball away and I just couldn’t get any rallies going. It was frustrating, and the harder you try, the worse it gets when it’s like that – I was still feeling fresh at the end.”

Annie was understandably happy: “Very happy, and excited for tomorrow! I was a bit nervous at the end of the match, I tried to not think about it being the last game, just tried to win a point at a time.”

The second match was also a five-setter, and also provided an Asian winner as Low Wee Wern repeated her World Open win over seventh seed Camille Serme.

It seemed that whoever got the early lead won the game – although Camille led the second 10/4 and only took it 11/9 – and although the Frenchwoman threatened to come back a couple of times in the decider, unforced errors proved her undoing. It was a crisp winner though that took the Malaysian into the semis.

“I knew it was going to be tough, because in the worlds, she was not in it in the first, but after, every game was a battle. Today, she was much quicker into the match,” said Wee Wern. “What made the difference I think today, was that I was just a bit more patient at the end of each game.”

Nicol David, on the other hand, has appeared in each of the last six Hong Kong finals, and she’s won them all. The newly crowned six-time world champion stayed on course with her 33rd Hong Kong win in a row as she too gained a measure of revenge, beating England’s Laura Massaro, who had beaten her in two of three meetings this year, 11/5, 11/8, 6/11, 11/6.

Massaro mounted a too-late comeback in the second but kept that momentum to pull a game back in the third, but Nicol regrouped and looked a solid as ever as she closed the match out in the fourth.

“I came out so fast in the first two, I just dropped a little in the third and she found some good shots and played well to take it,” explained David. “I knew I had to come out strong in the fourth and my lengths and volleys were working well.”

“I know there might be some bad weather tomorrow but it would be great to play at the harbour again, it has so many good memories for me. But it’s the semi-final, we just need a court to play on!”

The unlikely dream of four Asian and two Hong Kong semi-finalists didn’t come about, but it wasn’t down to a lack of effort on the part of Joey Chan or the crowd, that’s for sure. Raneem El Weleily weathered the early storm, and from 5/7 down in the first took 18 of the next 21 points to establish a commanding-looking two game lead.

But a few typical errors in the third let Joey back in, and the left-hander needed no encouragement – although she got plenty – as she levelled the match with some scintillating and determined play.

Raneem was never behind in the decider, but never far enough ahead to be comfortable, so when Joey called her own ball out at 10/8 the Egyptian was both grateful and relieved.

“I couldn’t believe she called that out when three refs missed it, all credit to her for that,” said Raneem. “I felt good at the start then played a few poor shots and let her back into it. I was nervous in the third and fourth, I was trying to tell myself the crowd were behind me too but it was hard!”

“In the fifth it was already two-all so I had nothing left to lose and I relaxed more. It’s great to play squash in front of a crowd like that whether they’re supporting you or your opponent, and I’m really looking forward to the harbour tomorrow.”

Semi-finals commence the Cultural Centre on Victoria Harbour at 18.00 on Saturday, weather permitting – adverse forecasts mean that a decision will be taken at 15.00 as to whether play can go ahead there, otherwise matches will be played at Hong Kong Squash Centre.

Women’s Quarter-Finals:
[1] Nicol David (Mas) bt [5] Laura Massaro (Eng)    11/5, 11/8, 6/11, 11/6 (50m)
[8] Annie Au (Hkg) bt [3] Rachael Grinham (Aus)    8/11, 11/9, 4/11, 11/6, 11/4 (58m)
[10] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [15] Joey Chan (Hkg)   11/7, 11/3, 7/11, 9/11, 11/8 (43m)
[13] Low Wee Wern (Mas) bt [7] Camille Serme (Fra)    11/7, 9/11, 11/9, 5/11, 11/4 (54m)

Full reports, quotes and photos on TODAY in Hong Kong:
www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/today.htm

REPORTED BY STEVE CUBS |

The Hong Kong youngster, far from being overawed by her opponent or the occasion, really made a game of the second which she lost narrowly, then fired in a series of winning shots at the end of the third to pull a game back. She continued to impress in the fourth, and at 9-8 had an opportunity of the sort she’d been making, but tinned it.
Duncalf needed no second invite as she finished the match off, a match that ended up tougher than she, or anyone else, might have imagined.
 
Coach Rebecca Chiu was pleased with her protege’s performance: “I thought she would be more nervous and make more mistakes than she did,” admitted Chiu, “but she played really well and was hitting some very good winners, and she had a chance to take it to five games.”
    
Duncalf’s next opponent is Malaysian Low Wee Wern who also faced a qualifier in New Zealand’s Kylie Lindsay. The rallies were well contested, mainly at the back of the court, but the Malaysian always had the edge, winning 11/4, 11/4, 11/7.
 
Camille Serme looked determined not to let her young Hong Kong opponent Liu Tsz Ling get a sniff of an upset, moving on with a 11/3, 11/3, 11/1 scoreline.
 
An upset – on paper, not necessarily on current form – came about in the following match as Emma Beddoes won her all-English match with 14th seed Sarah Kippax.
 
“It’s always weird when you play another English player,” commented the winner, “the crowd are very quiet, I don’t think anyone applauded anything for the first two games!”
 
Beddoes took those two 11/6, 11/6 but Kippax stormed back with 11/2 in the third. “She came out hitting winners, which I wasn’t expecting,” said Beddoes, “but I was pleased with how I regrouped to take the fourth.
 
“I’m very pleased, of course, I’ve been playing well and that’s my first ever win over Sarah after playing her a lot over the years, so it’s nice to do it in a big event like this. It’s the last tournament of the year for most of us so the further we can go the better.”
 
The shortest match of the day saw in-form Egyptian Raneem El Weleily breeze past German qualifier Sina Wall 11/6, 11/4, 11/7 in just 17 minutes, while her prospective opponent Madeline Perry needed just over an hour to see off the challenge of another in-form youngster, Dipika Pallikal.
 
The Indian number one had chances of a two-nil lead until a few errors at the end of the second let the fourth seed back in, but it remained an even contest until the death, the Irishwoman eventually winning 5/11, 11/8, 12/10, 5/11, 11/7.
 
“She was firing in winners from everywhere at the start,” said a relieved Perry, “I was expecting the ball to come back to me but it just didn’t. It was all pretty quickfire stuff, not many long rallies until the end, but it was always going to be close as she’s been playing very well.
 
“I felt that if I could stick in I would get some errors from her, which I did, but the fourth was poor from me, the fifth was good though – it was a good match to get me used to the court!”
 
Where Lee Ka Yi had earlier delighted without being a realistic prospect for the second round, the Hong Kong crowd expected Joey Chan to progress and she duly delivered, repeating her Macau Open final victory just days ago, beating Aisling Blake again 11/6, 11/8, 11/6 to join Annie Au in round two.
 
“I was confident going into the match,” said Joey, “having already beaten her in Macau and playing on my home courts this time. I tried to stay calm and keep patient, but I felt she was tiring towards the end of the second so I started to attack more.
 
“I’m really happy to get through to the second round for the first time.”

Women’s Round One (bottom):
[2] Jenny Duncalf (Eng) bt [Q] Lee Ka Yi (Hkg) 11/4, 11/9, 8/11, 11/9 (34m)
[13] Low Wee Wern (Mas) bt [Q] Kylie Lindsay (Nzl) 11/4, 11/4, 11/7 (29m)
[7] Camille Serme (Fra) bt Liu Tsz Ling (Hkg) 11/3, 11/3, 11/1 (23m)
Emma Beddoes (Eng) bt [14] Sarah Kippax (Eng) 11/6, 11/6, 2/11, 11/5 (43m)
[10] Raneem El Weleily (Egy) bt [Q] Sina Wall (Ger) 11/6, 11/4, 11/3 (17m)
[4] Madeline Perry (Irl) bt Dipika Pallikal (Ind) 5/11, 11/8, 12/10, 5/11, 11/7 (61m)
[15] Joey Chan (Hkg) bt Aisling Blake (Irl) 11/6, 11/8, 11/6 (42m)
[6] Kasey Brown (Aus) bt Melody Francis (Aus) 11/5, 11/6, 11/7 (30m)

Full reports, quotes and photos on TODAY in Hong Kong: www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/today.htm

Ahn Eun Chan won her second WISPA title at the inaugural Indian Summer event in Minneapolis/St Paul. The Korean number one came from a game down in her quarter final against Celia Allamargot and prevailed in an epic semi final, 14-12 in the fifth, over Scotland’s Alex Clark

Her opponent in the final, Zephanie Curgenven, had never been beyond the 1st round of a tour event but the former England Junior international had shown signs of great improvement recently after rediscovering her passion for the game a few years ago. Curgenven beat Genevieve Lessard of Canada in the 1st round 3-1 and then stunned top seed Milou Van Der Heijden 11-7 in the fifth in the quarter finals. A few weeks ago Curgenven lost in the 1st round of the Santiago Open to Alexandra Norman 3-1, this time though she was in dominant form and eased past the Canadian 3-0.

The final was a fitting climax and neither player showed signs of the efforts from their previous tough matches. Chan in the end just had a bit more in the tank and took the match 11-6 in the decider.

It was Chan’s second title of the year and fourth final in 2011, a place in the top 50 looks imminent.

Final: [4] Ahn Eun Chan (KOR) bt Zephanie Curgenven (ENG) 10-12 11-8 11-6 10-12 11-6 (46m)

Macau Open 10th to 13th November, $16000

Joey Chan won her first title of the year with a straight game victory over Aisling Blake in the final of the Macau Open, back on the calendar after a two year break.

The Hong Kong number two has been on the brink of breaking through to the top twenty for the past year and she seems to have found a new level at the right time.

Chan was untroubled in her first round and quarter final matches but had to fight for over 70 minutes in her semi final against Malaysia’s Delia Arnold. Chan eventually prevailed 11-5 in the fifth against a player ranked one place above her in the latest rankings.

On the other side of the draw, Ireland’s Aisling Blake caused two upsets on the way to her first final since May 2010. In the quarter finals she beat fourth seed Line Hansen in four games and then knocked out top seed Jaclyn Hawkes in straight games.

Although the final was in straight games, the match could have gone either way with nothing separating the players for most of the encounter. Chan won the crucial points near the end of all three games to clinch the fourth title of her career.

Blake will have her chance for revenge in the first round of the Hong Kong Open where she will play home favourite Chan. [Editor's latest update: Joey beat Aisling again in Round 1 of HKG Open! 11/6, 11/8, 11/6 (42m)]

Final: [2] Joey Chan (HKG) bt [5] Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-8 11-9 11-9 (38m)

Caboolture Open 11th to 13th November, $4000

New Zealand’s Megan Craig won her first WISPA title at the Caboolture Open beating second seed Maggy Marshall in the final.

The 18 year old from Blenheim has been in good form this year, reaching the last 16 of Women’s Junior Worlds and reaching two WISPA finals.

Craig upset sixth seed Christine Nunn in the second round and then recovered from two games down to edge top seed Sarah Cardwell 11-9 in the fifth in the quarter finals. Craig again found herself down in the semi final, this time against fourth seed Tamika Saxby, but she won a two tie breaks in the second and third games to ease away to victory in the fourth.

On the opposite side of the draw second seed Maggy Marshall was also having a tough time of it, making it to the final the hard way. She recovered from two games down in the second round to beat Aimee Slatter and then saved match balls in the quarter finals to beat Jessica Turnball in an epic 13-11 in the fifth. Her semi final opponent was a former top 30 player in Melissa Martin, making a welcome return to action. Martin hadn’t dropped a game in her first three matches and gave Marshall all sorts of problems. The second seed however prevailed in four games.

The final saw Marshall start strongly and take the opener, both players hungry for their first tour title. It seemed the previous matches had taken their toll on Marshall though as Craig began to take control of the match and eased through the next two games before holding off a late surge from Marshall in the fourth.

Watch out for Megan Craig in 2012, she could be one to watch.

Final: [10] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [2] Maggy Marshall (AUS) 9-11 11-4 11-1 11-8 (34m)

Coline Aumard and Misaki Kobayashi both eased through their first games – 11/2 and 11/1 respectively – before encountering stiffer resistance from Siti Munirah Jusoh and Choi Uen-Shah, but both came through in straight games.

“It’s my first time in Hong Kong, and I’ve qualified, I’m so happy,” said Aumard who certainly showed it meant a lot with her determination to finish the match off.

Kobayashi was similarly pleased: “It’s my third Gold event and the first one I’ve qualified for. I love Hong Kong too so it couldn’t happen in a better place!

Carmen Lee and Olga Ertlova

“After winning the first easily I tried to do too much in the second and made mistakes, I was pleased to win that 3/0 in the end,” admitted the Japanese number one. “I’m so excited, I really don’t mind who I play.”

Olga Ertlova also qualified for the first time, also in straight games after recovering from a big deficit in the first against Carmen Lee.

Someone definitely not qualifying for the first time was Tania Bailey, who beat young Indian prospect Anaka Alankamony in four games.

“I didn’t really feel comfortable on there,” admitted the 32-year-old Englishwoman, “so I’m just glad to get out of qualifying and I hope that’s woken me up a bit for the next round.

“I think the first time I made the main draw here was 12 years ago, and over that time I’ve lost in every round from the first right up to the final, so I feel quite comfortable here.

“I’d rather not play Nicol after the form she showed last week in Rotterdam, but other than that I don’t mind, I think I can give anyone else a good run on the day.”

Two popular wins followed as Hong Kong juniors Lee Ka Yi and Tong Tsz-Wing, coached by Rebecca Chiu and encouraged by new Macau Open champion Joey Chan, both won in four games against Lauren Selby and Siyoli Waters respectively.

Chiu was delighted: “We knew they all had chances, but they both took theirs well, and getting to the main draw will be good for their exposure and development, getting experience against the top players.

“We have a lot of juniors coming through, so hopefully we can get even more into the main draw next year!”

The final two spots were claimed by New Zealand’s Kylie Lindsay, who beat HK’s Karman Siu in straight games, and Germany’s Sina Wall.

“I got a bit overconfident when I was 2-0 up, I thought I could relax but I couldn’t, so I was glad to take that third,” said a delighted Wall, who beat England’s Carrie Ramsey 11/7, 11/6, 13/11.

“I played in HK in the world juniors in 2007, but this is my first Hong Kong Open, it’s great to qualify for such a big tournament.”

Women’s Qualifying Finals:
Coline Aumard (FRA) bt Siti Munirah Juson (MAS) 11/2, 11/8, 11/8 (35m)
Olga Ertlova (CZE) bt Carmen Lee (HKG) 12/10, 11/9, 11/8 (40m)
Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Anaka Alankamony (ING) 11/2, 11/9, 7/11, 11/2 (45m)
Misaki Kobayashi (JPN) bt Uen Shan Choi (HKG) 11/1, 11/9, 11/5 (21m)
Lee Ka Yi (HKG) bt Lauren Selby (ENG) 10/12, 11/7, 11/4, 11/4 (40m)
Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG) bt Siyoli Waters (RSA) 11/9, 9/11, 11/4, 11/8 (42m)
Sina Wall (GER) bt Carrie Ramsey (ENG) 11/7, 11/6, 13/11 (38m)
Kylie Lindsay (NZL) bt Karman Siu (HKG) 11/3, 11/7, 11/6 (28m)

Round 1 Main Draw:
Tue 18.00 CC [1] Nicol David (MAS) vs [Q] Tong Tsz-Wing (HKG)
Tue 18.45 CC [11] Donna Urquhart (AUS) vs Line Hansen (DEN)
Tue 19.30 C9 [5] Laura Massaro (Eng) vs [Q] Olga Ertlova (CZE)
Tue 20.15 C9 [16] Delia Arnold (MAS) vs [Q] Coline Aumard (FRA)
Tue 17.15 C9 [3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) vs Latasha Khan (USA)
Tue 16.30 C9 [12] Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) vs [Q] Tania Bailey (ENG)
Tue 14.45 CC [8] Annie Au (HKG) vs Gaby Huber (SUI)
Tue 15.00 CC [9] Joelle King (NZL) vs [Q] Misaki Kobayasji (JPN)

Wed 19.30 C9 Aisling Blake (IRL) vs [15] Joey Chan (HKG)
Wed 20.15 CC Melody Francis (AUS) vs [6] Kasey Brown (AUS)
Wed 18.00 CC [Q] Sina Wall (GER) vs [10] Raneem El Weleily (EGY)
Wed 18.45 CC Dipika Pallikal (ING) vs [4] Madeline Perry (IRL)
Wed 17.15 C9 Emma Beddoes (ENG) vs [14] Sarah Kippax (ENG)
Wed 16.30 C9 Liu Tsz Ling (HKG) vs [7] Camille Serme (FRA)
Wed 15.45 CC [Q] Kylie Lindsay (NZL) vs [13] Low Wee Wern (MAS)
Wed 15.00 CC [Q] Lee Ka Yi (HKG) vs [2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG)

Full reports, quotes, photos on TODAY in Hong Kong: www.squashsite.co.uk/hk/today.htm

REPORT BY STEVE CUBS |

Selby was also satisfied: “I thought I did alright, considering the matches I’ve had so far this week. Rachael’s not the easiest to play when you have heavy legs, she holds the ball so well and you have to stop and start and turn so often. But I’m pleased with my tournament, I thought I did credit to myself and I got my laundry done!!”

Teran was happy too: “I’m happy to get started, and to have a tough game to get me ready for the next round, Tesni played well. It’s normally hard to adjust after the travel from Mexico, but I’ve been here a couple of days already and I feel quite comfortable, I’m in good rhythm and playing well.

There was a huge upset in the second batch of women’s matches as teenage Egyptian qualifier Kanzy El Dafrawy ousted eighth-seeded compatriot Omneya Abdel Kawy in three delicately poised games, 12/10, 11/9, 12/10.

“I can’t believe it,” said a delighted Kanzy, “I’ve never even taken a game off her before. But I was playing well, even if she isn’t at her best at the moment, but when I was 10/6 down in the third I told myself I mustn’t let an opportunity like this slip.”

Another upset followed when Dipika Pallikal, who has just moved into the world’s top twenty, took out 14th-seeded Kiwi Jaclyn Hawkes in four games.

“I started well then made too many errors in the second,” said the Indian number one. “In the third and fourth I was trying to be more steady and I thought I did that well. I played Jackie in Malaysia in July so I knew what to expect, you have to be prepared to run and run like she does. “Really happy to get through, it should be a good game against Kanzy …”

There were no further upsets in the afternoon session women’s matches, as Jenny Duncalf, Annie Au, Laura Massaro and Joelle King all progressed never looking in serious danger. King found Swiss qualifier Gaby Huber a bit of a handful: “I’d never really seen her play, so it came as a bit of a surprise to find she hits the ball as hard as I do, which I’m not really used to,” admitted the Kiwi commonwealth gold medallist, who won 11/7, 11/6, 11/6. “It’s good to get started though and I’m very happy to win that one three-nil.” King now meets second seed Duncalf, who had just as tough a time of it against Line Hansen, coming through 11/9, 12/10, 11/7 in just over half an hour.

Meanwhile Duncalf’s English team-mate Massaro managed to quell the lively young Egyptian Yathreb Adel 11/9, 11/7, 11/6 and she’ll meet Annie Au, who won her all-Hong Kong match with Joey Chan in four games. “We play each other so often, it feels strange to come all the way over here just to play each other again,” chuckled Au.
 
The ladies got their first outing on Victoria’s showcourt as locals Orla Noom and Natalie Grinham started their campaigns. Noom, who won the qualifying competition for the wilcard spot, performed well enough but Australia’s Kasey Brown was a tough opponent, and the sixth seed came through in straight games despite Noom’s best efforts and a noisy partisan crowd.”It’s never easy playing the crowd’s home favourite,” admitted Brown, “and they were definitely against me and pretty loud too, but I thought I coped with it well and played pretty well too.”

The following match, featuring four-time finalist Grinham against her qualifier training partner Aisling Blake, was one the crowd had altogether different expectations of, and they weren’t disappointed as the former Aussie who has just returned to the world’s top ten came through in straight games in front of her watching husband and son.

Two contrasting women’s matches followed. France’s seventh seed Camille Serme, having lost to one young Egyptian (El Weleily) in Qatar was in no mood to lose to another today as she took a close first game against Nour El Tayeb, doubled her lead with more ease in the second and gratefully accepted the world junior champion’s retirement with an ankle injury at 2/1 in the third.

Fourth seed Madeline Perry went two games up as well, but her opponent, Emma Beddoes, far from conceding stormed back to take the next two games. It was fairly comfortable for the Northern Irishwoman in the decider, who after an tough hour long match will be grateful for a day’s rest before she takes on Natalie Grinham at the Luxor Theatre on Thursday.

Low Wee Wern had to work hard to secure a three-nil win over US veteran Latasha Khan, while five-time and defending champion Nicol David started off her defence on an outside court against compatriot Delia Arnold. “Delia was struggling with the bounce on the court,” said Nicol after her 11/3, 11/5, 11/6 win, “but I was too to start with, it took a little time to get comfortable on there. I had to remind myself it was the first round of the World Open and not let her get into it, she can be very dangerous if she does.”

That left Donna Urquhart and Nour El Sherbini, who were by now into their fifth game too, Sherbini having taken the lead 2/1 after saving game balls in what proved to be a crucial third game. The fifth was a relative canter, the young Egyptian finally able to celebrate her 16th birthday with an 11/2 decider.

Full reports with quotes and photos available on TODAY on the World Open site here!

Weymuller Open First Round

Last night I played Joey Chan from Hong Kong in the first round of the Weymuller Open. I have been working on parts of my game with coach, Rod Martin and it was nice to get through the first round which will only give me confidence going into the quarter finals tonight against World Number 3, Rachael Grinham. Joey played well in the first game and I didn’t take the opportunities I should have and lost the first 9/11. I was able to recover and gain more confidence as the match went on and won the next three 12/10, 11/2, 11/6. It is very humid in New York at the moment making the ball bouncy and harder to control.

I look forward to playing tonight.

xx

Weymuller Open Quarter Final vs Rachael Grinham

Last night I played Australian and World Number 3, Rachael Grinham in the quarter finals of the Weymuller Open in New York. I’ve never beaten Rachael before so I knew how tough it would be to win but I was excited to see if the training I have been doing with my coach Rod Martin, would transfer into a big game like this one.

It is so hard to find any kind of rhythm against Rachael and I struggled to adapt in the first game. Even though I thought I played well, I missed a few opportunities I should have taken and Rachael was very steady and consistent to win the first 7/11. I knew how important the second game was and made a big effort to stay in front of my opponent and take the ball for a tight straight drop when I had the opportunity. I was varying the pace of the ball well and was able to take control of the match. I knew I could never let my focus drift as Rachael can turn a match in her favour in no time and I concentrated well throughout to win the next 3 games 11/8, 11/5, 11/6. This is a huge confidence boost for me going into my semi final match today against World Number 2, Jenny Duncalf at 5pm.

xx

Weymuller Open Semi Final vs Jenny Duncalf

Last night I played World Number 2, Jenny Duncalf in the semi final of the Weymuller Open. In the first game, I struggled a bit to find my length and Jenny was playing well, hitting good width and not allowing me to cut the ball off. I got off to a better start in the 2nd game, going up 5/2 and 3rd game 8/4, but it is at these times, Jenny really buckles down and played some great shots. At this point, I needed to keep attacking and playing confident squash, instead of ’playing safe’ and I went down 8/11, 6/11, 9/11. It is these types of matches that you learn alot from and I will take this into the next tournament, the US Open held in Philadelphia, which starts on the 2nd October.

xx

Joelle King has been in great form this year and the New Zealand no.1 is on the verge of a place in the top 10. She started strongly against Omneya Abdel Kawy, taking a comfortable 2-0 lead. Kawy had won their only previous meeting back in 2009 and came back fighting taking the 3rd game before saving two match balls in the 4th, eventually taking it 17-15 on the tie-break. King again let 4 match balls slip by at 10-6 in the fifth but finished the match off 12-10 with a beautiful drop shot. King had admitted afterwards that she had felt nervous closing out the match against Kawy, a player she admires a lot.

Raneem El Weleily had played Laura Massaro 6 times in 2010 and had won 4 of those matches, so there was a good chance another upset was on the cards. Massaro however has recently entered the top 5 and with another victory over Nicol David at the CIMB Singapore Masters in July, it seemed the British Champion had stepped up another level. Weleily’s risky shot making was paying off though and she moved ahead 2-1. Massaro leveled with a controlled and error free 4^th game and then had 2 match balls in the decider. She was unable to close it out and Weleily came through 12-10.

Raneem elated after her 3-2 win over Laura Massaro.

Top seed Jenny Duncalf led the way for the rest of the seeds. The world no.2 dropped the first game to Jaclyn Hawkes but took charge from the 2^nd game to win in 3-1. She goes onto face King in the quarter final. Second seed Madeline Perry lost the second game to Dipika Pallikal but stayed in control for the remainder of a fast paced and hard hitting match. Perry plays Annie Au in the quarter final. Au overcame Emma Beddoes 13-11 in the 4^th game, although Beddoes had her chances in the 3^rd and 4^th.

Rachael Grinham maintained her perfect record against compatriot Donna Urquhart, winning in 4 games. Grinham’s quarter final opponent is another Australian, Kasey Brown. Fifth seed Brown lost the first game to Joey Chan and edged the 2^nd on a tie break, before easing away to victory. World no.8 Camille Serme also lost the first game to her opponent Samantha Teran. The rest of the match was close, with only a few points separating the pair, but it was Serme who won the crucial points and go on to face Weleily in the quarter final.There is live video streaming of the quarter finals from Ustream on Squashsite, starting at 5.30pm EST.

Results:
[1] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) bt Jaclyn Hawkes (NZL) 8/11, 11/6, 11/8, 11/5
Joelle King (NZL) bt [6] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) 11/3, 11/7, 9/11, 15/17, 12/10
[3] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Donna Urquhart (AUS) 11/7, 4/11, 11/5, 11/7
[5] Kasey Brown (AUS) bt [Q] Joey Chan (HKG) 9/11, 12/10, 11/2, 11/6
[7] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [Q] Samantha Teran (MEX) 9/11, 11/9, 11/8, 12/10
Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt [4] Laura Massaro (ENG) 6/11, 11/5, 11/6, 7/11, 13/11
[8] Annie Au (HKG) bt [Q] Emma Beddoes (ENG) 6/11, 11/8, 11/9, 13/11
[2] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [Q] Dipika Pallikal (IND) 11/6, 11/13, 11/6, 11/7